Iran won’t participate in FIFA World Cup 2026 in the US, hints football head amid war: ‘How could one…?’

The head of Iran's Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, has raised serious doubts about Iran participating in the FIFA World Cup 2026. The prestigious tournament will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Speaking on Iranian state television, Mehdi Taj questioned whether it made sense to send a national team to a tournament hosted partly in the United States, a country currently at war with Iran.

Iran is scheduled to play all three of its group-stage matches on US soil. They are supposed to play two matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. Team Melli's participation has been uncertain ever since the US and Israel started military strikes on Iran.

Taj's remarks came on the same day that five players from Iran's women's team claimed asylum in Australia during the Women's Asian Cup. The five, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from their team hotel at night. At least two more players reportedly applied to stay later that day.

Some of the players were labelled “wartime traitors” by Iranian state TV, according to AFP. It was after they stayed silent during the national anthem before their opening match against South Korea.

They later sang the anthem and gave the military salute in their next two games. Iran lost both matches. The team was eliminated after losing to the Philippines on 8 March.

Taj defended the players, saying they had done their duty by singing the anthem. He rather blamed US President Donald Trump directly.

He pointed to posts in which the US president had encouraged the players to seek asylum. He even offered to take them in if Australia refused.

“How could one be optimistic about the World Cup that is supposed to be held in America?” AFP quoted Taj as asking.

‘Forced to stay in Australia’

Iran's Football Federation chief claims that the five women players are not defectors. They were actually kidnapped, he said.

Taj alleges that Australian police intervened after the team's final match and forcibly removed players from the hotel.

Taj also referenced an alleged airstrike on a school in Minab. Iran has blamed the US and Israel for allegedly killing 160 girls.

“They martyred our girls in Minab, 160 of them. And, in this incident, they are taking our girls hostage,” he said.

He said that protesters had blocked the team bus on the way to the airport. The squad faced trouble boarding their flight, according to him. People pressured them to seek asylum at the gate, Taj alleged.

Mehdi Taj referred to the protest outside the Gold Coast stadium. According to AFP, they banged drums and shouted, "Regime change for Iran."

They also surrounded the Iranian team bus and chanted "let them go" and "save our girls", according to the news agency.